Floor-treating machine.



G. W. MEYERS FLOOR TREATING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 050.26, 1913.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

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FLOOR TREATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 1913.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 1 a) Gil/(7 1" 5607796 Wag/em G. W. MEYERS.

FLOOR TREATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, l9l3.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

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Patented Dec. 21

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chance it. metres, or cnrcaaof r'rnrnors.

recon-"remains na'onrnn Application filed December-26,1913. aenalno. aoavcr.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that ll, GEORGE W. Marries, a

citizen of the United States, residing at-Chicage, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Floor-Treating Machines, of which the following is a. specificatlon.

My invention relates to floor treating machines, by which I mean to include machines for scrubbing, polishing, grinding, or otherwise treating the surface of floors, be the of wood, stone, mosaic, or of other materia In the type of machine selected to illustrate the inventiomthe apparatus is operated chiefly by the aid of electricity, although the machine is controlled by an operator, and the operator, if he desires, may, in addition to controlling the machine, contribute part of the force for advancing it over the floor:

In general, my machine comprises a truck 'whereon the operative parts are mounted and-a handle by which the truclr and operative parts may be guided and controlled. The

operative parts include, among other things, a rotating frame carrying the brushes or polishers, and this frame is driven by an electric motor. The-motor, in addition to driv-.

ing the brush carryin frame, also drives tractor wheels by which the truck is advanced over the door. The truck also carries a reel for storing the 'sup ly cord by which the electric current is rnished to themachine; and in mymachine means are provided for driving the reel in the direc tion to take up the cord and means are also provided for evenly distributing the cord upon the reel as the cord is wound upon it.

The general chest of the invention is to provide a machine which is, practically speaking, completely automatic except as it requires guiding by the operator to such parts of the floor as re uire to be treated.

The manner in which this general object is till accomplished will become Specification of Letters Patent.

ects by the mechanism Patented Dec. hf, rare.

sectional elevation on the line l-t, Fig. 2. F g. 5 is a plan view on the line 55,-Fig. d.

Fig. '6.is an enlarged sectional elevation through the brush and brush carrier on the line 6-6, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plansection on the line 7-7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a plan section on the line 8-8, Fig. 3. Fi 9 is a side view of the shifting nut whic produces the travel, back and forth, of the carriage which distributes the supply cord upon the tahe-up reel.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the particular design of machine here shown the truck or main frame consists of an irregularinember 1 which is preferably made in a single piece and formed of malleable iron. This frame is supported upon casters 2 and tractor wheels 3. Said tractor wheels are mounted upon the tractor shaft f, D

at which is power driven in the manner presently to be described. Said tractor wheels are not rigidly connected to the shaft in the best design but are so connected that whenthe shaft rotates it will drive the wheels but will not prevent them from being rotated faster than the shaft. The details are best shown in Fig. 3, where it will be seen that the body of the wheel consists of two flanged disks 3, 3 fastened together by bolts 5 or V other suitable fastening devices and provided with rubber tires 3. Said disks are loose upon shaft 4. The inner dish 3 is provided with internal ratchet teeth 3*, which coiiperate with pawls 6 pivotally mounted upon a pin '2" projecting from the adjacent disk 8 which is lzeyed or otherwise rigidly secured to shaft 4. The ratchet teeth face in ward (toward the left, Figs. 1 and 2).

Shaft d is driven by a sleeve 9 which is keyed or otherwise fastened to it and which in turn has splined upon it a clutch sleeve 10 adapted tocotiperate with clutch teeth ll formed upon the adjacent surface of a worm .1 gear wheel'12 which is loose upon sleeve 9.

Sleeve 10 is shifted into and out of connection with wheel 12 by means of a co1lar'13 pivotally connected to one end of a lever 15.

Said lever is fulcrumed upon the shaft 16 mounted in the frame 1, as best shown at the bottom of Fig. 3. The lever is operated by 'a rod 17 connected at its upper end to an such direction as to drive themachine forarm 18 pivotedupon the "pin 19 near the upper end of one of the handles 20. Said arm 18 is controlled by the small hand lever 21, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The arms 20 just mentioned rise to a convenient height from the rear end of the main frame and serve as means whereby the machine may be guided and controlled.-

Power is imparted 'to the tractor shaft and to the gear wheel 12 by a worm which meshes with gear 12 and is fastened to a shaft 26 provided with a bevel gear 27 meshing with the bevel gear 28, as best shown in Fig. 4. Gear 28 is driven by reduction gearing housed in a casing 29 supported uponxthe main frame 1. Reduction gearing of y suitable type may be employed, and a these devices are known there is no necessity here of showing or describing the same further than to say that the power therefor is furnished by the motor shaft 30 which revolves at a high rate of or other suitable clamping device.

speed. The reduction gearing is so designed as to greatly reduce the speed in the bevel gear 28. Shaft 30 is driven by an electric motor 31 supported in a frame 32 mounted upon the main frame 1, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the parts which act upon the floor, and to the parts by which they are actuated: The brushes 35 are fastened in brush holders 36 shown in detail in Figs. 6 and 7. In the preferred form these brush holders are open at the end so that the back of the brush may be readily slipped into or out of the holder; and the brush is secured by a set screw 37 Rising from the brush holder is a stem 38 carrying a washer 39 which forms an abutment for a compression spring 40 which encircles a reduced portion of the stem 38 and is put under compression by an adjusting nut 41 which screws into the top of a housing 42 in which the stem and spring are inclosed. Nut 41 forms a guide for the stem and the downward movement of the stem is limited by a pin 43 which passes through the stem and overlies the nut. construction the brush is constantly urged toward the floor with any desired degree of force. Ordinarily a fluid of some kind (oil, water, soap or abrasive) will be used in connection with the machine, and in order to confine this liquid Within the acting area of the machine it is desirable to place squeegees of rubber or other suitable material adjacent to the brushes on the outside thereof as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. These in their rotary movement keep throwing the liquid inward .into the path of the brushes. The manner in which the liquid will be thrown inwardly can be varied by varying the angle of inclination of the brushes and squeegees with respect to the ring 44 where- As a result of this In the construction shown the housings 42 I are eight in number, and by preference they form an integral part of the ring 44. This ring, together with the parts which it supports and the parts which support it may be conveniently termed the brush carrier. Inwardly extending from ring 44 are arms 45 which are furnished at their inner ends with upstanding guide pins 46. These pins fit loosely in the ends of the arms of a spider 47 which is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the shaft 48. Said shaft is fastened to the bevel gear 28 and is therefore driven by the motor through the medium of the reduction gearing. 'It will be noted that as a result of this construction in which the guide pins 46 are loose in spider 47, the pins cause the brush carrier to rotate and yet permit the carrier to float; that is, to move vertically to automatically accommodate itself to inequalities in the floor. In order to reduce friction spider 47 is provided with two sets of'bantam bearings 50, 50, interposed between the spider and adjacent parts grovided with a delivery pipe 52 which con:

ucts the water to a convenient point near the center of the machine. The flow of water through the pipe is controlled by a valve 53 fastened to a rod 54 connected to and operated by an arm 55 pivoted upon the pin 19 previously mentioned. Arm 55 is here shown to be integral with the arm 18 and lever 21 and the parts are so arranged that as soon as the clutch 10 is thrown in the valve 53 will be opened and will let the water flow. A spring 56 normally urges lever 21 to a position to hold valve 53 closed and clutch 10 disengaged. The reservoir is provided with an outlet valve 62 and this is operated by a cord or chain 63 attached at the far end to the rod 17. The soap or other cleanser or abrasive is delivered in constant quantity by a screw conveyer 64, shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Said conveyer is driven by a shaft 65 having a bevel gear 66 which meshes with the bevel gear 28 previously mentioned.

Now referring to the means for storing and handling the lamp cord or other conducthe machine from a stationary socket somewhere in the wall or baseboard of the room where the machine is to be used; The reel cylinder 80 is secured to parallel disks 81, 81 which form the ends of the reel. One of these disks is pinned or otherwise secured to a flanged sleeve 82, as shown at the left of Fig. 3. Said sleeve is journaled in a sleeve 83 which is preferably integral with a sheave 84 journaled in one of the two frame plates 85, 85. Said plates are supported upon the horizontal bars 86, 86 which form part of the frame-work of the machine as best shown in Fig. 1. The plates 85 are braced by tie rods 87 and bars 88, the latter also serving the purpose of supporting and guiding the cord distributer hereinafter described. The sheave 8 1 just mentioned 1s driven by a belt 90 which passes over the sheave 91 shown in section at the bottom of Fig. 3 and in dotted lines at the bottom of Fig. 1. Sheave 91 is keyed or otherwise fastened to the tractor shaft 4:. A friction attachment of the lamp cord to the building lit) and thus cause the reel, acting under the tension of the cord, to rotate backward and permit the cord to be drawn 0d the reel. The construction permits the machine to travel either toward or away from the stationary point of attachment of the supply cord and yet the cord is at all times kept taut.

The supply cord is connected at the inner end to the motor terminals in a manner which I will now describe: The inner ends 93 of the cord lead into the center of the reel as shown in Fig. 3. At the drum axis they are connected by binding screws 94 to heads 95 formed at the inner ends of binding posts 96 which are arranged horizontally, coincident with the drum axis and journaled in bushings 97 of insulating material. As a result the binding posts rotate in unison with the reel, being pulled around by the inner ends of the cord itself. The binding posts 96 pass out through the plates 85 to terminal blocks 98 which are loosely mounted upon said posts 96 and receive the ends of wires 99 which lead to the terminals on the motor. The wires 99 are indicated in Fig. 3 and are shown diagrammatically in Fig, 2.

T will now describe the means whereby the supply cord is evenly distributed upon the reel: A sprocket wheel 100, best shown in Fig. 3, is keyed to the projecting end of the sleeve 83 and. hence rotates in unison is a screw 104: which has both right and left screw threads or channels 105 formed therein. A nut 106 shown separately in Fig. 9 and also shown in Figs. 3, 4c and 8 is provided with two helical ribs 107, 108 located on opposite sides of said screw. Said nut slides horizontally in a guide 110 formed in a plate 111. The ribs 107, 108 are far enough apart so that only one of them entersa groove 105 at a time. When the nut is shifted to one position in its frame 111 the rib 107 enters one of the grooves 105 and causes the nut and plate 111 to travel in one direction lengthwise of screw 10 1. When the nut is shifted to the opposite position it brings rib 108 into the other groove 105 and causes the nut and plate 111 to travel in the return direction. Hence, while the screw continues to rotate in the same direction the plate 111 will move either back or forth along shaft 104 depending upon which of the ribs is in engagement with the screw.

Nut 106 is automatically shifted at the end of its travel by means ofstationary stops or pins 113, 114: which are in position to engage opposite sides of the cam 115 formed upon the top of the nut. The construction is such that when the nut reaches one end of the screw, the pin. 113 will strike cam 115 and shift the nut into engagement on the opposite side of the screw and hence change the direction of travel of the nut. When the nut has arrived at pin 114: said pin will engage the cam on the opposite side thereof and shift the nut and cause it to reverse its direction of travel along the screw. The plate 111 which travels with the nut is secured by shafts 116 to a similar plate 117, said plates forming the frame-work of a carriage which is supported upon and guided by the bars 88, previously mentioned. Supported upon the shafts 116 are guide sheaves 120 which receive the cord 93 and guide it onto the reel. As best shown in Figs. 1 and A these sheaves are located opposite to each other so that they may receive and guide the cord no matter in what direction the machine is traveling. As the reel is positively geared to the screw 104 it follows that the guide carriage 111, 117 will travel across the reel in one direction or the other whenever the reel rotates; furthermore, the carriage will always travel in the proper direction, for it is evident that, assuming the carriage to be in the middle of screw 10%, if the reel rotates one way the carriage will travel in one direction but if the reel rotates the opposite way the carriage will travel in the opposite direction. Hence, whether the supply cord is being wound up or unwound the distributing carriage will properly perform its function but will stand still Whenever the reel stands still.

The operation of the machine will be a parent from the foregoing description. s soon as the operator turns on the electric current and grasps thehandles and lever 21' themotor will start, the water will start to flow through the pipe 52, the valve 62 will beopened to permlt the abrasive compound to flow and the clutch 10 will be thrown in. The rotation of the motor will not only cause the brush carrier to rotate but will drive the tractor wheels 3 and cause the machine to advance under its own power at asteady and uniform rate. The rotation of the tractor wheels will cause the reel to revolve and the distributing carriage to travel, the machine being consequently automatic and self-operatin except as to the guiding of the machine, w ich of course, requires the intelligence of an operator. As soon as the v operator lets go the handle, the spring 56,

(see Fig. 1) Will throw the clutch 10 out and willshut ofi the supply of water and abrasive.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a floor treating machine, the combination of a frame rotating in a horizontal plane, a brush holder driven by said frame and means for holding said brush holder in different ositions with respect to the momentary direction of travel of the brush holder.

v 2. In a floor treating machine, the combination of a frame rotating in a horizontal plane, and a brush holder having a stem provided with a vertical feather, said frame having a plurality of verticalslots each for receivin said feather to hold said stem and the brus holder at various angles relatively to the momentary direction of travel. of the brush holder.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name 1n the presence of two witnesses.

' GEORGE W. MEYERS. Witnesses: Y

HOWARD M. Cox, KATHRYN S. READY. 

